FSU kicker Dustin Hopkins was nominated as a Lou Groza finalist, an award given to the top kicker in the nation, but lost to Tulane kicker Cairo Santos. / Riley Shaaber/FSView

Written by

Perry Kostidakis

Staff Writer @perrykos

Florida State football has rightfully been recognized for their double-digit win season, ACC Championship and Orange Bowl berth, but last week, some of the individual Seminoles were honored for their contribution to the season.

It’s been a pretty impressive season for Florida State football players, specifically golden-toed senior kicker Dustin Hopkins and the always physically terrifying junior defensive end Bjoern Werner.

Hopkins and Werner were both elected to the Walter Camp All-American first team, a testament to the seasons they both had. Hopkins of course broke the ACC single season record for points (133), and became the NCAA’s all-time leading kicker with 469 points. He was also a finalist for the Lou Groza award, the award given to the nation’s top kicker, but lost out to Tulane kicker Cairo Santos, and was named a Capital One Academic All-American.

Werner continued his dominance upon offensive lines and quarterbacks, leading the ACC with 13 sacks, and that was enough to earn him a finalist nod for the Nagurski award, given to the nation’s top defense player, and the honor of being nominated the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Hopkins, meanwhile, became the all-time leading scorer among kickers in FBS history with 459 points over his career at Florida State. He also set the single-season ACC record for points with 133 points this year. Not only did Hopkins impress on the field, he also impressed in the class room as he earned first-team Capital One Academic All-American honors. Hopkins is a graduate student pursuing his master’s degree in International Affairs and has a 3.76 cumulative GPA.

Thompson paired his second-team nod along with being named a co-recipient of the Brian Piccolo Award along with Miami defensive end Shayon Green, which is given to the ACC’s most courageous player. After breaking his back against Wake Forest in 2011, Thompson returned to FSU and became the ’Noles leading rusher, totaling 87 yards on 91 carries, a 7.5 yards-per-carry average, and spectacular touchdown runs of 74 and 80 yards. His triumphant return came to a swift end, unfortunately, when he tore his ACL against Miami.

The recognized individuals of Florida State will return for their final time as a team in the Orange Bowl Jan. 1 at 8:30 p.m. against Northern Illinois.